Site Information

Site number:
705
Authors:
IBC, GGC
Date recorded:
1992/12/31
Reason Sampled:
representative sample of a soil on old till deposits on the valley sides above Lake Vanda; also likely to be a totally undisturbed reference site for contamination studies
Description:
on a sloping glacial bench surface on the north side of Wright Valley, above Lake Vanda and approximately 2km due north of Vanda Station
Altitude:
500 m
Aspect:
S
Slope:
11 °
Location Data
Observer IBC GGC
GPS No
Latitude Longitude DMS 77° 30.54' S 161° 39.36' E 77° 0.0' S 161° 40.0' E
Latitude Longitude DD -77.50900 161.65600 -77.000 161.667
Latitude longitude precision DD 0.00008 0.00008 0.008 0.008
Locality Wright Valley to the north of Vanda Station
Survey not recorded

Climate

Soil climate zone:
central mountain
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-23 °C
Frozen ground depth:
30 ~
Frozen type:
dry frozen
Frozen comment:
~30

Geology

Geological setting:
the deposits on the valley walls in the vicinity of Lake Vanda are commonly described as scree. Close examination showed that there is a series of distinct westward sloping benches (glacial retreat lines) and that the deposits comprise a wide variety of rocks, some of which are basement rocks similar to those occurring down-valley. These deposits are therefore thought to be the deposits from early up-valley glacial advances with relatively minor amounts of detritus originating directly from the Olympus Range. Pale grey till underlies most of the surficial material and may be Peleus Till.
Patterned ground:
Surface weathering or surface features:
moderate staining and oxidation of surface clasts which also exhibit rounding, ventifaction and cavernous weathering

Soil

Soil parent material:
thin intermittent drift over older pale fine textured drift from basement rocks, granites, dolerite and sandstone
Previous disturbance:
nil
Soil weathering stage:
6 3 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)
Soil moisture status:
xerous; the soil surface is occasionally moistened by summer snowfall;
Biological activity:
Profile Description
HorizonDepthDescription
705a -1 – 0 cm surface pebbles, granules and coarse sand; subangular to subrounded; small particles with some weak staining with larger clasts showing more distinct staining,
705b 0 – 3 cm light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gravelly pebbly granular sand; moderately cohesive with a distinct surface crust; rock particles subangular to subrounded and weakly stained; distinct boundary,
705c 3 – 15 cm light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) pebbly granular sand; loose; rock particles subangular to subrounded and weakly stained; irregular boundary,
705d 15 – 20 cm pale yellow to light yellowish brown (2.5Y 7/4-6/4) gravelly silty sand; moderately cohesive; rock particles mainly angular to subangular with some granular clasts disaggregated and partly oxidised; distinct boundary,
705e 20 – 32 cm pale yellow to light yellowish brown (2.5Y 7/4-6/4) gravelly silty sand; firm to moderately cohesive; salt accumulations diffused through the horizon; rock particles angular to subangular and unstained; distinct boundary,
705f 32 – 55 cm pale olive (5Y 6/3) gravelly silty sand with some medium boulders; weakly cohesive; rock particles subangular to angular and unweathered; indistinct boundary,
705g 55 – 85 cm pale olive (5Y 6/3) silty to sandy pebbly to cobbly gravel; moderately cohesive; rock particles angular to subangular with occasional clasts crumbled; diffuse boundary,
705h 85 – 100 cm pale yellow (5Y 7/3) silty to sandy pebbly to cobbly gravel; moderately cohesive; rock particles angular to subangular and unweathered; diffuse boundary, on pale till.

Sample Data

Physical Data
Sample nameDepth descriptionTop (cm)Base (cm)Bulk DensityDry Bulk DensityGravimetric MoistureVol. Moisture (BD=2)
705a 1-0 -1 0 No
705b 0-3 0 3 1.1
705c 3-15 3 15 1.1
705d 15-20 15 20 2.5
705e 20-32 20 32 1.3
705f 32-55 32 55
705g 55-85 55 85 2.2
705h 85-100 85 100 2.7
Sample solution chemistry
Sample namepHNa meq/100gCa meq/100gMg meq/100gK meq/100gCl meq/100gSO4 meq/100gNO3 meq/100gEC mmho/cmSoluble SaltNotes
705a                      
705b 8.3 0.87 14.5 1.68 0.05 3.28 14.1 0.3571 2.7 .  
705c 8.4 15.0 15.0 2.07 0.7 17.6 13.1 0.5714 6.0 .  
705d 8.6 60.0 17.5 7.25 3.3 59.1 10.3 2.0 10.6 .  
705e 8.8 51.0 8.75 7.25 3.2 57.2 1.48 1.7143 13.0 .  
705f 8.7 8.45 7.0 6.25 2.0 21.7 0.54 1.9296 5.0 .  
705g 8.5 9.65 7.25 6.75 1.85 22.6 0.54 1.6429 5.0 .  
705h                      
Particle size distribution
Sample name< 2 mm2 - 0.5 mm0.5 - 0.25 mm0.25 - 0.1 mm0.1 - 0.05 mm0.05 - 0.02 mm0.02 - 0.002 mm< 0.002 mmFe2O3CaCO3Notes
705a 0.3
705b 0.4 17.0 27.7 43.9 6.3 1.7 1.3 1.7 0.4 .
705c 0.5 25.6 33.0 31.4 4.9 1.9 1.8 0.9 0.4 .
705d 1.3 20.5 15.9 17.5 11.6 17.3 13.9 3.0 0.4 .
705e 1.9 20.7 14.2 17.5 12.9 16.7 14.7 2.9 0.6 .
705f 2.8 23.7 19.4 17.6 11.0 12.4 13.4 2.0 0.5 .
705g 2.2 28.9 18.8 17.0 10.7 12.0 10.7 1.5 0.5 .
705h 2.7
Clay Mineralogy
Sample nameMicaIHMHIV - IHMICHLVTHIVCHLSMCHL SMFE - CHLHTQTZFLDHBCALNotes
705a :
705b :
705c :
705d :
705e :
705f :
705g :
705h :
National Soil Archive Samples
Sample nameNSA Sample IdContainer typeFraction type
705c M22/4230 large mixed
705d M22/4231 large mixed
705e M22/4232 large mixed
705f M22/4233 large fine
705g M22/4234 large mixed

Photos

Photo record:
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